By now you've heard that president-elect Trump is nominating conservative Republican representative Tom Price, MD of Georgia's 6th congressional district as the 23rd Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Read on to see why you should care. Who is Tom Price, MD anyways?

What’s the HHS got to do with me?

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), also known as the “Health Dept”, is a cabinet-level department in the executive branch of the US government. Its goals are summed up by its motto – “Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America”. Prior to 1979, it was known as the The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. HHS came to be when its educational functions were transferred to the newly created US Department of Education in 1979. That all sounds great, but why should you care? Let’s look at a few selected agencies under the umbrella of HHS:

The Public Health Service which oversees familiar acronyms such as the CDC, FDA and the NIH.

Not impressed? How about this one? HHS also oversees the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) which is responsible for health coverage of ~100 million people or roughly 1 in 3 Americans.

Who is Tom Price, MD?

Dr. Tom Price is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School. He completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Emory University in Atlanta and worked in the private sector for 20 years before joining Emory’s faculty in 2002. He also served as the director of the Orthopedic clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital. Dr. Price got his start in politics through the Medical Association of Georgia and was elected to the Georgia state senate in 1996. He functioned as the state senator of Georgia’s 56th senate district until 2004 when he was elected to the US House of Representatives, succeeding Johnny Isakson as representative of Georgia’s 6th congressional district. He has retained that seat since then, most recently winning re-election in 2016 winning 61.6% of the votes.

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Dr. Bo Liu is an aspiring radiologist-in-training and the founder and editor of the White Coat Money Blog. He has an interest in interventional radiology and helping his medical colleagues get ahead in this mad world of medicine and money. When he's not crushing the list at the PACS station or typing up your next favorite blog post, you can usually find him at the local badminton club, movie theater or the most recently opened restaurant.

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